Spending on health in Australia has exceeded $60 billion for the
first time, according to the latest figures released today by the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The 2000-01 expenditure figure of $60.8 billion was $5.1 billion
more than the previous year, and represents a real growth rate of
5.1%, significantly higher than the 10-year trend of 4.4%.
Health expenditure Australia 2000-01 also reports that health
expenditure as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is now
at 9.0% compared to 8.8% in 1999-00.
Figures for 1999-00 and earlier years have been substantially
revised, showing much higher out-of-pocket health expenditure.
Consequently the health spending to GDP ratio for 1999-00 has been
revised upwards from 8.5% to 8.8%. The ratio rose steadily through
the 8% range during the 1990s.
Report co-author Lindy Ingham said that the 2000-01 figures,
while rising in real terms compared to the previous year, were in
line with those for similar Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) countries.
'Our health spending as a proportion of GDP is below levels in
both the United States and Canada, and European OECD countries with
the exception of the UK', Ms Ingham said.
The report shows that health spending was $3,153 per person in
2000-01, an increase of $231 per person on the previous year. This
is a 3.8% annual increase in real terms compared with the average
per person increase of 3.2% per year between 1990-91 and
2000-01.
Ms Ingham said that, as had been the case for all of the 1990s,
hospital and medical services, and pharmaceuticals, were the main
drivers of health expenditure growth-over two-thirds of all health
spending increases in the 1990s were in these three areas.
'Expenditure on pharmaceuticals in particular grew rapidly in
2000-01, rising by 14.6%, while hospital and medical services grew
by 7.2% and 7.6% respectively.'
The Commonwealth's share of public hospital funding was 48% in
2000-01, with the States' share falling each year from 47% in
1997-98 to 43% in 2000-01. Public hospital funding by
non-government sources was 8.5% in 2000-01.
The Commonwealth Government's rebate on private health insurance
premiums continued to have an impact on health expenditure. In
2000-01, total health expenditure on the rebate was $2.1 billion,
up 35% on the previous year.
This contributed to a rise in the Commonwealth's share of total
health expenditure from 46.9% in 1999-00 to 47.5% in 2000-01.
State and local governments' share of expenditure, which had
averaged over 23% for the previous 3 years, fell to 22.5% in
2000-01, while the non-government sector's contribution remained at
30%.
The private health insurance funds' share of expenditure on
health increased by 0.4% while spending by individuals remained
steady.
5 September 2002
Further information: Mr Tony Hynes, 02 6244
1160;
Ms Lindy Ingham, 02 6244 1143, 0409 307 671
For media copies of the report: Publications Officer,
tel. 02 6244 1032,
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for details.